Joe Sonka 😐
@joesonka.lpm.org
State government reporter for @kentuckypublicradio.org — @lpm.org, @weku.bsky.social, WKYU/Bowling Green, @wkmsfm.bsky.social. Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe/BBN. Did a Pulitzer many years ago.
DM me news/apocalypse tips! https://www.lpm.org/people/joe-sonka
DM me news/apocalypse tips! https://www.lpm.org/people/joe-sonka
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
A bill that would create a 25-foot buffer zone around police and first responders. Bill sponsor tells me that if officers feel they are being harassed, the person has to move back after a warning or face criminal charges. Latest from me @kentuckypublicradio.org #kyga26
Harassing an officer in Kentucky? Back up 25 feet under new GOP legislation
A bill that would make it a crime to interfere with or harass first responders, creating a 25-foot buffer zone, passed a Senate committee Thursday.
www.lpm.org
February 12, 2026 at 6:25 PM
A bill that would create a 25-foot buffer zone around police and first responders. Bill sponsor tells me that if officers feel they are being harassed, the person has to move back after a warning or face criminal charges. Latest from me @kentuckypublicradio.org #kyga26
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
SLOTKIN: So the fact we have ICE agents saying out loud to people they're trying to arrest that 'we're gonna put you in a database,' they are making that up?
LYONS: We do not do that
LYONS: We do not do that
February 12, 2026 at 6:16 PM
SLOTKIN: So the fact we have ICE agents saying out loud to people they're trying to arrest that 'we're gonna put you in a database,' they are making that up?
LYONS: We do not do that
LYONS: We do not do that
I'm even an iphone person and I'm not entirely sure what Apple News is.
February 12, 2026 at 5:17 PM
I'm even an iphone person and I'm not entirely sure what Apple News is.
"I could be (recording police) 10 feet away, 15 feet away, 20 feet away. I'm not impeding them … If they're approaching me, I'm not moving. I'm just filming a situation, and we see it every day on the news right now” - Democratic Sen. Gary Clemons of Louisville #kyga26
A bill that would make it a crime to interfere with or harass first responders and police officers, creating a 25-foot buffer zone, passed a Kentucky Senate committee Thursday over objections from two Democrats. From @sylviaruthg.lpm.org #kyga26
Harassing an officer in Kentucky? Back up 25 feet under new GOP legislation
A bill that would make it a crime to interfere with or harass first responders, creating a 25-foot buffer zone, passed a Senate committee Thursday.
www.lpm.org
February 12, 2026 at 5:07 PM
"I could be (recording police) 10 feet away, 15 feet away, 20 feet away. I'm not impeding them … If they're approaching me, I'm not moving. I'm just filming a situation, and we see it every day on the news right now” - Democratic Sen. Gary Clemons of Louisville #kyga26
This Kentucky data center bill was skipped in committee this morning. The chair said the GOP bill sponsor was working on changes to his bill after hearing feedback from "stakeholders." Stay tuned next week. #kyga26
A GOP bill seeks to make new data centers cover their own costs for utility infrastructure in Kentucky, preventing existing electricity customers from subsidizing them. The bill comes as utility companies and local communities deal with an influx of prospective data center projects. #kyga26
GOP bill seeks guardrails for new data centers to ‘pay their own way’ in Kentucky
A GOP bill seeks to make new data centers cover their own utility costs in Kentucky, preventing existing electricity customers from subsidizing them.
www.lpm.org
February 12, 2026 at 2:39 PM
This Kentucky data center bill was skipped in committee this morning. The chair said the GOP bill sponsor was working on changes to his bill after hearing feedback from "stakeholders." Stay tuned next week. #kyga26
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
Everything you need to know on what the legislature may do around data centers this year from @joesonka.lpm.org (the bill Joe's referring to was passed over this morning, but worry not we'll probably see it again before too long)
My latest on a long-awaited data center bill in the Kentucky legislature, which gets its first committee hearing this morning. #kyga26 👇
A GOP bill seeks to make new data centers cover their own costs for utility infrastructure in Kentucky, preventing existing electricity customers from subsidizing them. The bill comes as utility companies and local communities deal with an influx of prospective data center projects. #kyga26
February 12, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Everything you need to know on what the legislature may do around data centers this year from @joesonka.lpm.org (the bill Joe's referring to was passed over this morning, but worry not we'll probably see it again before too long)
My latest on a long-awaited data center bill in the Kentucky legislature, which gets its first committee hearing this morning. #kyga26 👇
A GOP bill seeks to make new data centers cover their own costs for utility infrastructure in Kentucky, preventing existing electricity customers from subsidizing them. The bill comes as utility companies and local communities deal with an influx of prospective data center projects. #kyga26
GOP bill seeks guardrails for new data centers to ‘pay their own way’ in Kentucky
A GOP bill seeks to make new data centers cover their own utility costs in Kentucky, preventing existing electricity customers from subsidizing them.
www.lpm.org
February 12, 2026 at 12:34 PM
My latest on a long-awaited data center bill in the Kentucky legislature, which gets its first committee hearing this morning. #kyga26 👇
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
“Rather than explain that the footage had been pieced together from a copy, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the reason for the gap was that the prison recording system had a nightly reset resulting in a lost minute every night.”
February 12, 2026 at 3:48 AM
“Rather than explain that the footage had been pieced together from a copy, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the reason for the gap was that the prison recording system had a nightly reset resulting in a lost minute every night.”
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
“Last May, as a groundswell built demanding public scrutiny of the Justice Department's records on Epstein, the agency ran into a problem: it had already destroyed its master copy of surveillance video from Epstein's final hours in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.”
Newly released documents show the FBI's scramble to explain last year why it released a screen recording with a missing minute from the night Jeffrey Epstein died, instead of the original footage.
Mystery of the missing minute from Epstein jail solved
Documents that were part of the Epstein files release help explain why a video released from the night of Epstein's death was missing one minute close to midnight.
cbsn.ws
February 12, 2026 at 3:46 AM
“Last May, as a groundswell built demanding public scrutiny of the Justice Department's records on Epstein, the agency ran into a problem: it had already destroyed its master copy of surveillance video from Epstein's final hours in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.”
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
NEW: “CBS Evening News” producer Alicia Hastey sends a bombshell farewell note:
Stories are “evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations.”
Stories are “evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations.”
February 12, 2026 at 3:22 AM
NEW: “CBS Evening News” producer Alicia Hastey sends a bombshell farewell note:
Stories are “evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations.”
Stories are “evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations.”
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
"Sir, to show our appreciation, the trophy says 'the undisputed champion of beautiful, clean coal'"
February 11, 2026 at 9:56 PM
"Sir, to show our appreciation, the trophy says 'the undisputed champion of beautiful, clean coal'"
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
“When Citizens United was decided in 2010, billionaires had spent $18 million on the 2000 election, $13M 2004 and $16M in 2008. Then came the deluge. In 2012 it was $231M, and nearly doubled again in next three election cycles —to $682M in 2016, $1.2 billion in 2020 and $2.6 billion in 2024.” Gift:
Opinion | Affordability and the ‘Epstein Class’ Will Define American Politics
www.nytimes.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:57 AM
“When Citizens United was decided in 2010, billionaires had spent $18 million on the 2000 election, $13M 2004 and $16M in 2008. Then came the deluge. In 2012 it was $231M, and nearly doubled again in next three election cycles —to $682M in 2016, $1.2 billion in 2020 and $2.6 billion in 2024.” Gift:
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
I called up one of the White House "special government employees" linked to the Fulton County ballot seizure.
I ended up on the phone for nearly two hours.
It got weird. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/meet-th...
I ended up on the phone for nearly two hours.
It got weird. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/meet-th...
Meet the ‘Cabal’-Hating ‘Special Government Employee’ Involved in the Fulton County FBI Raid
Clay Parikh unloaded in a nearly two hour conversation with TPM.
talkingpointsmemo.com
February 12, 2026 at 12:03 AM
I called up one of the White House "special government employees" linked to the Fulton County ballot seizure.
I ended up on the phone for nearly two hours.
It got weird. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/meet-th...
I ended up on the phone for nearly two hours.
It got weird. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/meet-th...
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
Dr Oz inviting ol Jeffrey to his V Day bash in 2016
February 12, 2026 at 12:12 AM
Dr Oz inviting ol Jeffrey to his V Day bash in 2016
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
219-211, House votes to pass the resolution by @meeks.house.gov to terminate Trump's tariffs on Canada. Six Republicans join Democrats in voting YES, while one Democrat votes NO.
February 11, 2026 at 11:21 PM
219-211, House votes to pass the resolution by @meeks.house.gov to terminate Trump's tariffs on Canada. Six Republicans join Democrats in voting YES, while one Democrat votes NO.
This has never happened to me.
February 11, 2026 at 11:51 PM
This has never happened to me.
Zero
No grand jurors found the Trump DOJ met low probable cause threshold in failed indictment of Democratic lawmakers
www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
No grand jurors found the Trump DOJ met low probable cause threshold in failed indictment of Democratic lawmakers
None of the D.C. grand jurors who heard the Trump administration’s pitch on why they should indict Democratic lawmakers over a video urging members of the
www.nbcnews.com
February 11, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Zero
From @mariagallucci.bsky.social at @canarymedia.com: Loss of green smelter highlights Kentucky’s need for clean electricity
Loss of green smelter highlights Kentucky’s need for clean electricity
Century Aluminum chose Oklahoma, not Kentucky, for a new smelter. Some say it’s a "wake-up call" for the Bluegrass State to modernize – and decarbonize –…
www.canarymedia.com
February 11, 2026 at 5:02 PM
From @mariagallucci.bsky.social at @canarymedia.com: Loss of green smelter highlights Kentucky’s need for clean electricity
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
Given repeated opportunities, AG Bondi repeatedly refuses to apologize for exposing the identities, sensitive information, and photographs of Epstein victims, attacking lawmakers for asking the question.
February 11, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Given repeated opportunities, AG Bondi repeatedly refuses to apologize for exposing the identities, sensitive information, and photographs of Epstein victims, attacking lawmakers for asking the question.
Spokesperson for Sen. Mitch McConnell tells me in a statement he “was discharged from the hospital yesterday and is grateful for the outstanding care he received. He is feeling better and will be working from home this week on the advice of his doctors.”
February 11, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Spokesperson for Sen. Mitch McConnell tells me in a statement he “was discharged from the hospital yesterday and is grateful for the outstanding care he received. He is feeling better and will be working from home this week on the advice of his doctors.”
"The indictments don’t involve the issuing of licenses to undocumented immigrants that was alleged by a whistleblower in a lawsuit filed last year."
Five Kentuckians have been indicted on federal charges, who are alleged to have taken kickbacks ranging from $200-$1,500 from legally present, non-U.S. citizens who were applying for driver’s licenses. From WKU:
Five Louisville residents under federal indictment for driver's license fraud
Five Louisville residents are under federal indictment for allegedly getting financial kickbacks in a driver’s licensing scheme. They were employed at two regional driver’s licensing offices where the...
www.wkyufm.org
February 11, 2026 at 1:53 PM
"The indictments don’t involve the issuing of licenses to undocumented immigrants that was alleged by a whistleblower in a lawsuit filed last year."
Reposted by Joe Sonka 😐
SCOOP: Tensions at Palantir have grown in recent weeks over the company's work with ICE.
On Friday, CEO Alex Karp tried to calm concerns in an hourlong video that offered few specifics—instead offering NDAs to workers who want to understand how it's empowering ICE.
www.wired.com/story/palant...
On Friday, CEO Alex Karp tried to calm concerns in an hourlong video that offered few specifics—instead offering NDAs to workers who want to understand how it's empowering ICE.
www.wired.com/story/palant...
Palantir CEO Alex Karp Recorded a Video About ICE for His Employees
In a video shared with Palantir employees, Alex Karp did not explain how ICE is utilizing the company's products. Instead, workers were told they can sign NDAs if they want detailed information.
www.wired.com
February 10, 2026 at 8:04 PM
SCOOP: Tensions at Palantir have grown in recent weeks over the company's work with ICE.
On Friday, CEO Alex Karp tried to calm concerns in an hourlong video that offered few specifics—instead offering NDAs to workers who want to understand how it's empowering ICE.
www.wired.com/story/palant...
On Friday, CEO Alex Karp tried to calm concerns in an hourlong video that offered few specifics—instead offering NDAs to workers who want to understand how it's empowering ICE.
www.wired.com/story/palant...
Not great
The FAA is closing the airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas for 10 days, grounding all flights to and from the airport, for “special security reasons."
The FAA's notice did not provide additional details.
The FAA's notice did not provide additional details.
FAA closes airspace around El Paso, Texas, for 10 days, grounding all flights
The Federal Aviation Administration is closing the airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas for 10 days, grounding all flights to and from the airport.
bit.ly
February 11, 2026 at 11:55 AM
Not great